Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
I spotted a couple of the categories in today’s NYT Connections puzzle, but the fact that I don’t take a lot of gym classes hurt my knowledge. You avid exercisers will have an advantage today. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Beach time.
Green group hint: This way, then that way.
Blue group hint: Workout time.
Purple group hint: Chirp!
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Places to find sand.
Green group: Things that move back and forth.
Blue group: Apparatus-based exercise classes.
Purple group: Featuring birds.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for March 12, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is places to find sand. The four answers are bunker, desert, hourglass and sandbox.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is things that move back and forth. The four answers are metronome, pendulum, swing and windshield wiper.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is apparatus-based exercise classes. The four answers are barre, reformer, spin and step.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is featuring birds. The four answers are cuckoo clock, Froot Loops, Mexican flag and weather vane.
Toughest Connections puzzles
We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.
#5: Included “things you can set,” such as mood, record, table and volleyball.
#4: Included “one in a dozen,” such as egg, juror, month and rose.
#3: Included “streets on screen,” such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.
#2: Included “power ___” such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.
#1: Included “things that can run,” such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.
